


Shedding Of Burdens

by girlingoldboots



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Character Study, Gen, Male-Female Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-19
Updated: 2012-01-19
Packaged: 2017-10-29 18:53:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/323028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/girlingoldboots/pseuds/girlingoldboots
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Molly cuts her hair short.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shedding Of Burdens

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt from the sherlockbbc_fic kinkmeme on LiveJournal. This version is slightly longer than the version I previously posted.
> 
> If you like and you're so inclined the tip jar is open:  
> [Buy Me a Coffee](https://ko-fi.com/A4012NV1)

"You want the usual trim, Sweetie?" her hair-dresser asked.

Molly had gone to Vin every three months and always got the same thing. A quick trim no more than one or two inches off of her hair. It was routine and something he could put himself on auto-pilot whilst doing.

She hesitated for one moment before saying. "No. I want it all off. Do what you like, just as long as it's above the shoulders." she said firmly.

He was shocked enough to drop his scissors. Picking them up he exchanged them for a clean pair and smiling he led her to the shampooing station to wash and condition her thick hair. "I've wanted to do this for-ever!" he said, slight Caribbean accent getting thicker with his glee.

As she leaned back and felt the warm water cascade over her head she was able to relax and let her thoughts wander. She could hear her mother in her mind scolding her: _But you have such lovely hair!_ always said in that tone of voice that implied it was wasted on someone like her and her hair being her only lovely feature. She thought about Jim ( _no, Moriarty_ ) and the times he grabbed a handful of her hair during sex, pulling on it to tilt her head back and bite her neck until the skin bruised. She blinked to get the image out of her mind.

During the comb out Vin asked her gently "Last chance to change your mind, Miss Molly."

She thought of all the times Sherlock called her childish. "It's just hair." She smiled at him in the mirror. Without another word Vin made sure her head was straight and he cut the first lock. There was no going back now.

A change was as good as a rest, her Nana used to say. And after the events of the past year she needed something. Anything.

She had never had short hair. It was always a curtain of light brown between her and the rest of the world. She hid behind it all through school and university. During medical school and her internship she adopted a braided bun style and the pony-tail at her work was the easiest style to maintain. It was her camouflage and a way to pass by people un-noticed. She was tired of hiding. She had been the perfect victim and while there were times she wanted to hide she felt she had faced the worst and she needed to prove something to herself if no one else.

She closed her eyes and let Vin do his work. At the sound of the hair dryer she opened her eyes again and she was shocked by the sight in the mirror. He did nothing more than a simple bob-cut but it waved slightly with no help from the curling iron and swished when she turned her head. She felt lighter. Freer. She thanked him and smiled. Whilst paying she let him talk her into buying good shampoo and gave him a generous tip.

Getting home she greeted Toby and laughed as the cat gave a double take and shied away from her touch. "It's just me, Silly." She said, going into the bathroom to put away her new shampoo. She tossed out the old one even though it was half-full.

By evening she had made up with her cat and slept better than she had in days.

The next morning there was the shock of waking up with a new hairstyle and she reached for the clips and scrunchies on reflex to pin it all back. She laughed at herself when she tried clipping up hair that wasn't there anymore. All the accoutrements weren't needed and she scolded herself for that. On impulse she dumped the whole box of hair things into the bin, save for the _Hello Kitty_ headbands, but she didn't feel like wearing one today. Instead she tucked one lock of hair behind her ear and let it fall naturally.

Satisfied she finished getting ready for work.

Cearra, who worked in radiology, complemented her as she got her morning coffee in the cafeteria. Molly thanked her and headed for her kingdom of microscopes, bodies, and scalpels. Her list of things to accomplish that day wasn't long, but it was involved. There were blood samples she had to go over, the autopsy on Ms. McSmalls (mid forties, coronary heart disease) for her family's insurance claim. There were also minor lab dramas she had to sort out. The joys of being housed in a teaching hospital, students often acted like they were still in primary school rather than the adults that they were.

Once all of that was settled she was able to sit down and work on the blood samples that needed testing. She was hunched over a microscope, making notations and absorbed in her work when Sherlock came sweeping in with all his coat-billowing, Byronic, bastardly glory. Judging from the second set of footsteps she knew that John wasn't far behind.

So much for her quiet morning.

"Just so you are aware." He started, not even giving her a glance. "Doctor Hooper allows me unlimited access to the labs and the equipment, so if you would be so kind as to vacate the premises it would be appreciated."

"Sherlock." She said, looking up. "You don't have unlimited access. You have to ask my permission, remember?" She said, voice mildly shy, but firm.

John chocked back a laugh at the World's Greatest Consulting Detective not being able to recognise a friend of theirs after she had gotten a simple hair-cut. "You look nice, Molly." He said.

"Thank you, John." She replied with a smirk for Sherlock. "What do you need the lab for?"

"The ceremonial of cutting one's hair." Sherlock began, pacing around her. "Usually denotes a change in one's life, a symbol of mourning. A cutting away of all the burdens that seem to weigh one down."

"Are you done?" She asked, she bit her tongue on the retort that threatened to burst from her lips. Instead she simply said. "I needed a change."

Sherlock seemed to ignore her. "And I need a liver." A nudge in the ribs from John. "If you please." Said through clenched teeth.

"Let me finish up here and I'll see what I can do." she said. "Be a love and get me a coffee?"

His jaw dropped and closed quickly again at her statement. She continued. "Cream and one sugar please? Want your liver or no?"

"I'll get it for you, Molly." John said, not hiding his glee. This was probably going to show up on the blog at some point in the near future.

She and Sherlock considered each other for a moment. "Don't worry, my bravado has only been brought about by a long morning." She said, pushing herself away from the lab table.

"I would figure as much." There's a long silence. "The long hair suited you better."

"I thought you said it was childish?" She replied. "It'll grow, Sherlock." She said. "But I might keep it this way."

"What you choose to do with dead follicles is your own business." He said, obviously uncomfortable. However it made Molly smile.

Getting up from the table she went into the morgue area. She looked through her paperwork and found a donated body that she could obtain the liver from. As much as things did change they tended to stay the same. Sherlock would continue to invade her lab, and she'd continue to provide what he needed for his experiments. However for the first time in a long time she felt more herself, instead of the person people wanted her to be. And she was alright with that.


End file.
